Songbird
by Dominatrice
Summary: Oneshot! Complete! It was their wedding day. It was supposed to be perfect. But for this pair of Songbirds...


**A/N** Okay guys! While I should be continuing my other stories, this Oneshot was just begging to be put to paper! I know, like 'Concrete Angel' it is angsty again (and that angst wasn't really the theme in mind when this song was written!) but I enjoyed writing it. I have no idea if this is any good, I had quite a good (small but good) response to 'Concrete Angel' and so felt I was probably safe in posting this one! However, without further ado, here is the story!

**Songbird**

Ginny watched him sleep, running her hands through his fine, blond hair absently. The warm glow cast by the sun over the lake reflected off his somewhat luminous skin and gave him an almost ethereal quality. She smiled to herself, she sounded like an infatuated sixteen year old, not an accomplished, soon-to-be-married woman of twenty-two. A rueful grin tugged at Ginny's lips as she smoothed the hair away from her loves eyes. They were to be married the next day, she was sure none of her plans were finished and that it would end up being an absolute shambles, but she really couldn't find it within herself to care. It had been his idea to come and have a picnic by the old Hogwarts Lake; to sit for the entire afternoon basking in the afternoon sun and enjoying the quiet of each others company.

Lost as she was in her thoughts Ginny started slightly when Draco opened his eyes and cleared his throat softly. Looking down with a start Ginny felt her heart do a funny jump in her chest as her eyes locked onto his. As small butterflies did a rendition of Swan Lake in her stomach she knew exactly why she was with the man before her. Smiling softly Draco reached up and cupped her cheek with his large, pale hand; letting his thumb trace her lips, marvelling at how soft they were. He felt her smile against the pad of his thumb and place a small kiss on it. Sighing in contentment he let his hand fall back down to his lap as he moved his head slightly from its position so that he could see her better. They stared at each other for a while, each equally lost in thought, the silence companionable once more.

"Comfortable?" Ginny asked eventually, running her fingers through his feather soft hair once more, she loved the feel of the silky strands sliding between her fingertips, she could have stayed like that forever. Draco smiled, cracking an eye open.

"I sure am." She smiled, sighing once more in contentment, eyes drifting shut once more.

_**For you there'll be no crying  
For you the sun will be shining **_

'_**Cause I feel that when I'm with you  
It's alright, I know it's right**_

The sun continued to play across the water, providing what felt like a special performance for the two lovers. After a few more minutes of peaceful silence Draco groaned slightly.

"I suppose its time we went back and faced the music isn't it?" His voice was a soft bur against her stomach. Ginny loved the deep timber of his voice, the underlying power that ran through every syllable he uttered. She'd be a shame faced liar to say it didn't turn her on. "I suppose we better had." In contrast, her voice was silky; sliding over him like the satin sheets they slept it. Drawing in a deep, shuddering breath he met her eyes, staring contentedly into them. He would not lie; they were not glimmering amber or spicy warm cinnamon. Neither were they the warm colour of coffee or rich chocolate. But they were her eyes. Somewhat muddy in their colouring, they showed everything. Ginny wore her heart on her sleeves, as well as her mind. Draco loved her mind, never a more complex and devious one had he come across. Every velvety syllable that passed through her lips had been thought of, scrutinised, analysed and re-designed for full impact. He'd be a shame faced liar to say it didn't turn him on.

_**And the songbirds keep singing  
Like they know the score  
And I love you, I love you, I love you  
Like never before**_

For a moment more they allowed the sound of birdsong to drift over them, then Draco sighed and levered himself into a sitting position. Despite herself, Ginny felt a pang of remorse; from the waist down Draco was paralysed. It had happened sometime during the last battle, no one could say exactly when or where. But there it was, it had happened. And in the typical Malfoy way, Draco had adapted and salvaged what he could from a bloody awful situation.

Raising his wand he summoned his wheelchair over from where it had rested a few yards off. Murmuring the necessary incantation Draco waited until the seat was resting on the floor and then, with practiced ease, manoeuvred himself into it. Murmuring a spell he made himself comfortable as the wheel chair rose again. Smiling up at his fiancée Draco waited for her to gather together the final bits and pieces from their picnic before she attached everything to the back of his chair and started to push him in the direction of Hogsmead.

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo

Ginny stared at herself in the mirror. She was no Fleur, she knew that. Yet, Draco made her feel beautiful, like she was some kind of ethereal Goddess that should be worshiped. Somehow, knowing that he was the only one who thought that of her made it even more special. A cloud of brown hair appeared behind her and she smiled at Hermione.

"You ready Gin?" Hermione's warm eyes met Ginny's nervous ones through the mirror and Ginny felt slightly calmer.

"Did it feel like this for you, when you and Ron got married? All nervousness and excitement, and _everything_ all mixed up in one?" During her frantic questioning Ginny had turned to face Hermione. The older witch smiled reassuringly at her sister in law. Ginny looked radiant, her Weasley red curls were pulled back into an elaborate looking bun, tendrils escaping to frame her heart shaped face. Her white dress hugged her curves, yet revealed nothing it shouldn't. She looked… Perfect.

Hermione laughed. "Oh Gin!" she exclaimed, giggling to herself. "You're just as bad as your brother! How on _earth_ did you manage to get a dirt smudge on your nose?" Ginny smiled bashfully and allowed her friend to rub her nose delicately to remove the offending piece of dirt. Silence fell over them again. Both turned as the door to the kitchen opened. Arthur Weasley looked on at his radiant daughter and felt pride swelling up within her. She was _so_ beautiful.

"You ready Gin-Bug?" The use of his old nickname for her, mixed with his familiar, soothing voice did wonders for Ginny's nerves. Taking a deep breath she stepped forward and laid her hand lightly on his elbow. "Shall we?" she smiled, allowing Hermione to lower her veil for her. She could hear the organ music being played as she stepped out of the house into the garden that had been made up for the occasion, just like it had been for Bill and Fleur's wedding. Silence quickly fell as the music started to play in earnest, and all heads turned to look at her.

_**To you, I would give the world  
To you, I'd never be cold  
'Cause I feel that when I'm with you  
It's alright, I know it's right**_

Her eyes flew to meet Draco's at the end of the aisle, and she felt an instant calm descend on her. Years later she would smile and tell her nieces and nephews that she didn't hear the organ music being played as she walked towards her one true love. She would laugh and reminisce how, even sat in a wheel chair, he had looked so breathtakingly handsome and imposing. She was maybe one step away from him, from taking his hand in hers, when it happened.

The Healers at St. Mungo's later told her that it had been a curse lying dormant, waiting to be activated. They patted her shoulder in awkward, useless sympathy and told her that being paralysed was only the physical effect, that they didn't realise he was slowly dieing from the inside out. Years later, Ginny would tell her brothers children when they asked, that their Uncle Draco had been a great, stoic man. That he had been nothing short of incredible till his last breath.

A hundred or so years later, when Ginevra Molly Weasley was a very old witch, she would think about how she had very nearly been Ginevra Molly Malfoy. She would twist her engagement ring on her finger and contemplate what they're children might have looked like. She would talk to him in her head and ask his opinion about trivial things that she knew he used to enjoy talking about.

But most of all Ginny would remember sitting in the room in St. Mungo's. The way her wedding dress looked off-white next to the sterile whiteness of the hospital walls. She would never forget the feel of Draco's lifeless, pale hand lying limply in her own, all masculine strength gone with his life. The look on his forever sleeping face would haunt her dreams night after night for many a year; the longing unfulfilled matching her own.

At the funeral, Ginny found no shame in crying. She did not rant and rave, cry and scream, nor did she seek to hide her pain from those surrounding her. Ginny simply cried. A long steady trickle of tears. Ginny wept from her heart.

She never did find another, it was not intentional, and she did not mean to avoid male contact. But they had to understand, no one could ever replace him, but she was never lonely. Ginny knew that when she died, she would be with Draco again, wherever 'again' was.

And so, here Ginny found herself. At the grand old age of One Hundred and Ten, she was lying on her Death Bed. She was content with this situation. It was the night of the anniversary of Draco's death, the day they should have been married. It felt right, she was happy to die. Although her family put her mumblings down to her imagination, they could not help but wonder. Ginny talked of Draco being there, and indeed, she could feel, for the first time in eighty-eighty years, his solid warmth and power next to her.

As Ginny drew her last breath, she recalled the song that he used to sing into her hair when they would lay together in the garden on warm summer days.

_**And the songbirds keep singing  
Like they know the score  
And I love you, I love you, I love you  
Like never before**_

Like never before; like never before

Draco smiled and reached out to take her lily white hand. His Songbird had come home to him.

**A/N2** Ok! Well, it made me sniff a bit and think awww but that's probably because I'm a soft hearted individual! I do hope you enjoyed it! Feedback would be greatly appreciated, I know it's only a One-shot and so therefore I don't need reviews bugging me to update, but something to show what people thought of your efforts can really brighten up your day after you've had a crap one at college! I appreciate it's probably horrifically cliché, but it felt original when I thought of it! Hope it made good reading!

WishfulWhispers

xXx


End file.
